1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to splashguards used to prevent objects, such as water, mud, rocks, sand, and debris, which may be scattered from a vehicle's tires, from impacting other objects, such as windshields of following vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a vehicle travels down a road, the vehicle's tires may scatter or disperse water, mud, rocks, sand, debris, and other objects. The faster the vehicle is moving, the faster these objects may be scattered. If these objects impact other vehicles or people, they can cause a significant amount of damage and inconvenience. Therefore, devices have been developed to prevent vehicle tires from scattering objects beyond a vehicle.
Some vehicle owners use splashguards to prevent tire splashes from muddying their vehicles. Typical splashguards cover one wheel on one side of a vehicle. Thus, most vehicles have a pair of splashguards to cover both rear wheels. Examples of these splashguards include those disclosed in Larkin et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,311), Knoer (U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,842), Burnstein (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/792,713), and Simon (U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,475). Some trucks may have four rear wheels, so they may have four splashguards, such as the splashguards disclosed in Conner (U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,722). The splashguards discussed above are positioned perpendicular to the vehicle's undercarriage, and they define a partial surface between the undercarriage and the road. These splashguards are further positioned adjacent to a tire to cover the front of the tire so that when the tire rotates on moving road elements, such as water, mud, or dirt (hereinafter referred to as “tire splash”), the splashguards prevent tire splashes from moving, dirtying, or damaging objects, such as vehicle portions adjacent to the tire or windshields of following vehicles.
One problem with these known splashguards is that they allow some tire splash to escape, particularly through the area between the vehicle's left and right tires. It is desired that splashguards cover this area.
Splashguards disclosed in Knowles (U.S. Design Patent Des. 192,684) and Podall (Des. 209,044) appear to be made of rectangular material that extends throughout the rear side of the vehicle. While these splashguards appear to be able to control tire splashes being dispersed from the area between the vehicle's tires, they are unable to control tire splashes being dispersed from the area between the road and the bottom edge of the splashguard. It is desired that splashguards cover both the area between the road and the edge of the splashguard and the area between the vehicle's tires.
Splashguards disclosed in Larkin et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,311), Knoer (U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,842), Burnstein (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/792,713), Simon (U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,475) further appear to be rigidly mounted to a bar. The splashguard disclosed in Rogers (U.S. Design Patent Des. 417,422) appears to be rigidly mounted to a vehicle's bumper. Another problem with these splashguards is that when the surface level of the road the vehicle travels on changes, the splashguards are susceptible to being damaged. When the road level changes, the splashguards may hit the road, and either the splashguards will eventually be detached from their attachment points, or they will physically be damaged due to the impact with the road. It is desirable to add flexibility to these splashguards to allow them to accommodate changing road levels thereby minimizing their exposure to potentially damaging impact.
Another problem with known splashguards described above is that they are subject to wear and damage if they come into contact with a road surface. This can happen if the vehicle is overloaded or if the vehicle travels over an uneven roadway. Typically, the bottom of the splashguard may rub and abrade against the road surface. It is further desired that a splashguard have a way of being protected from abrasive damage from road contact.